un: drenched kitten of heated purrs, audio

[jeoha]

[ There's a pause, as he remembers how to use the magic, and then his voice comes through - crisp, low, commanding. He has his Prince voice on and he doesn't even notice. ]

You must go for the head. Decapitation is best, if you can manage it. Caving in the skull second best. Slice open the throat, third. No fancy footwork, no finesse. Your first priority is to keep yourself from harm, so only go for the kill that you know you can take. If you can't take it, escape.

[ He pauses, breathes. ]

We have been told to kill them, if we can. If you cannot, come to me. I will teach you how to fight.

We do not have the luxury of being ignorant.

Comments

[handmaiden of unsheathed swords] audio posted:

[darkeststars]

Good advice.

[ His voice goes a little more dry ]

From what I've witnessed, explosives don't seem remiss either.

[jeoha]

When you can afford to be heard.

I am not sure we have that luxury, either.

[darkeststars]

Fair enough. We certainly may be smack in the middle of civilian territory, and occupied at that, but -- still sometimes one must work with the methods at hand.

You're a fighter, then? [ Noting down another among his mental tally of the refugees. ]

[jeoha]

Survival comes first, yes. But gun powder is precious, so use it wisely.

[ A pause. What a strange thought. What was he now? Not a prince. But what did that leave? ]

I am not a soldier.

But dire situations teach quickly.

[darkeststars]

[ 'Gun powder', interesting. He's learning all sorts of historical terms in this strange place. ]

Truer words were never spoken.

I am not quite a soldier, but the very next thing to it. If any of our number need practice with the sword, I suppose I might assist a bit, should you find your hands full.

[ It's been a few years since he touched something besides a lightsaber, but good to keep his hand in at fighting with something that has more heft to it. ]

[jeoha]

[ He nods, realizes he can’t be seen, and then says: ] Thank you.

I am unsure how many will need instruction, but extra hands are always helpful.

How may I address you?

[darkeststars]

[ There's a brief pause. Slightly like the former prince on the other end of the line, the local Sith Lord hasn't entirely gotten a handle on picking and choosing from his useless fancy titles quite yet. ]

...You may call me Archeval. And I'm happy enough to lend my time in the name of this little company's survival.

Your name, stranger?

[jeoha]

You may call me Lee Chang.

Where are you from?

[darkeststars]

I hail from the Sith Empire, Lee Chang. Though if you have heard of it at all, you'd be the first here.

[jeoha]

[ He shook his head. He was never going to get used to audio-only communication. ]

Alas, I am not. I have yet to speak to someone who’s kingdom I know.

[darkeststars]

[ Funnily enough, it's not Arche's favorite either. You lose so much information when you don't have a holo-image of the other being's expression. ]

Nor I. Not unheard of, where I'm from -- I've known people from any number of far-off worlds -- but it seems most here have been grabbed from very different places indeed.

[ Entirely pre-hyperdrive planets, even, so far as he can tell. ]

[jeoha]

[ There's a pause as Lee Chang frowns, wondering if the translation was wrong. ]

Worlds - you mean kingdoms? Empires?

[darkeststars]

If it pleases you to think so, certainly.

[ It's blatantly not really an answer, but so far nobody he's talked to here has been even remotely familiar with this idea. ]

And what kingdom do you call home, Lee Chang?

[jeoha]

[ The answer only confuses him further, but he does not continue to pry. Not now. ]

I come from the Kingdom of Joseon. But I could not tell you how far it lies from here.

[darkeststars]

Curious that one man and his regime could pull so many different people from such far and varied places at one time. I suspect there is much more going on here than the corpses alone.

[jeoha]

I've already seen far more than should be possible. [ A little clipped. ] So I suspect that is an understatement.

I do not even remember being taken, or my arrival, and the days in the prison are hazy at best.

[darkeststars]

Yes, whoever they employed for that little adventure was quite the professional. It's not easy to sneak up on me.

You were in an actual jail, were you? I'd heard some rumblings of a prison being involved from some of the others who've come in, but no real details.

[jeoha]

Mm. We woke chained in cells. I did not fully understand until Haltham spoke his piece, but I take it that you then found yourself in the salt mines?

How or why they separated us, I couldn't say. Nor how long we had been so.

[descendency]

It's 'Kitten', Archeval. So good to see you two cranky old men making friends.

[darkeststars]

[ Bone-dry. ]

Your translator seems to be malfunctioning, Mingyu. Either that or you truly did just call another grown man a laser-brained nerf-dung sniffer, and I would hate to think you'd been reduced to primary school insults.

[ Thankful that he's not the one inheriting this particular stupid nickname. It's painful enough to even hear it at all. ]

[descendency]

Is that what 'kitten' means in your empire? Goodness, things are worse than I thought.

At any rate, it's not like I started it. It's right there in his handle.

[darkeststars]

Oh? And should I be referring to you as an adorable garden snake, then?

[descendency]

If you're so inclined. 'Hissy', perhaps.

[darkeststars]

Very well then. Try not to nick me when I toss you out of the kibla-green patch to put down fertilizer, Hissy.